Introducing the new AGA City60

03/09/2014

AGA INVESTS £2 MILLION IN ENGINEERING FACILITY AND UNVEILS NEW MARKET-DEFINING AGA CITY60

The first AGA City60 has rolled down the production line at Ketley in Shropshire. The brand new, factory finished, flueless model in 14 colours was on display for an invited audience as AGA shifts gear to add a city centre living customer base to its traditional country owners. Almost two-thirds of all AGA cookers sold today are from a new generation of electric products launched since May 2011. This has led to the Group embarking on a new £2 million investment in process engineering at its Coalbrookdale foundry – adding to more than £1 million in new plant made in the last two years. The move has secured the future for the Group’s 550 Shropshire-based employees. The investment also provides the capacity for expansion should the new products bring growth beyond the 10,000 AGA sales levels achieved pre-recession.

Mike Wright – Executive Director of Jaguar Land Rover and author of The Wright Review of Advanced Manufacturing in the UK and Its Supply Chain – added his support for brands from the region accelerating their development programme. Speaking at the event, he said: “If you haven’t got great designers, great engineers and great innovators you are going to struggle to maintain the manfacturing footprint that we all need. You need to have the a product creation process upfront that is genuinely world class. Clearly from what I have seen, the AGA City60 is a truly innovative product that is going to generate a lot of interest and I am in no doubt that it is going to be hugely successful.”

William McGrath – Chief Executive of AGA Rangemaster Group – said: “Investment in product and production processes has transformed prospects for AGA at home and overseas. Just as in the 1930s, AGA is bringing together great design work and progressive manufacturing to create an AGA attuned to consumers’ continuing desire for radiant-heat cooking. Now – with the flexible and more affordable AGA City60 – successful roll outs this autumn in both the UK and overseas are central to our development.”